the Example, affect the Fund’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was
52% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for
investment purposes) in securities of small capitalization companies, and in derivatives and other instruments that have economic characteristics similar to such securities. The Fund focuses on equity securities of small
capitalization companies that Invesco Advisers, Inc. (Invesco or the Adviser), the Fund’s investment adviser, believes are undervalued. The principal type of equity security in which the Fund invests is common stock.
The Fund considers a small-capitalization company to be one that has a market capitalization, at the time of purchase, no larger than the market capitalization of the largest
capitalized company included in the Russell 2000® Index during the most recent 11-month period (based on month-end data) plus the most recent data during the
current month. A company’s “market capitalization” is the value of its outstanding stock.
The Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in real estate investment
trusts (REITs).
The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in securities of
foreign issuers, including securities of issuers located in emerging market countries, i.e.,
those that are generally in the early stages of their industrial cycles, and depositary receipts.
The Fund can invest in derivative instruments including forward foreign
currency contracts, futures contracts and options.
The Fund can use forward foreign currency contracts to seek to hedge
against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated
or otherwise manage exposure to foreign currency exchange risk.
The Fund can use futures contracts to seek exposure to certain asset
classes.
The Fund can use options to seek investment return or to mitigate risk and
to hedge against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated.
The Fund emphasizes a value style of investing. In selecting securities,
the portfolio managers emphasize the following characteristics, although not all investments will
have these attributes:
■
Buy businesses trading at a significant discount to the portfolio managers’ estimate of intrinsic value.
The portfolio managers believe intrinsic value represents the fair economic worth of the business.
■
Emphasize quality businesses with potential to grow intrinsic value over time. The portfolio managers primarily seek established issuers which they believe have solid growth
prospects, the ability to earn an attractive return on invested capital and a management team that
exhibits intelligent capital allocation skills.
The portfolio managers will consider selling a security if a more attractive investment opportunity is identified, if a security is trading near or above the portfolio
managers’ estimate of intrinsic value or if there is a fundamental deterioration in business prospects that results in inadequate upside potential to estimated intrinsic value.
The portfolio managers seek to achieve strong long-term performance by
constructing a diversified portfolio that they believe offers value content greater than the broad market, as measured by the portfolio’s aggregate discount to the portfolio managers’ estimated intrinsic value of the portfolio. The investment process
is fundamental in nature and focused on individual issuers as opposed to macroeconomic forecasts or specific industry exposure. The portfolio construction process is intended to preserve and grow the estimated intrinsic value of
the Fund’s portfolio rather than mirror the composition or sector weights of any benchmark.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with any
mutual fund investment, loss of money is a risk of investing. An investment in the Fund is not a
deposit in a bank and is not insured or
guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market
volatility. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are:
Market Risk. The market values of the Fund’s
investments, and therefore the value of the Fund’s shares, will go up and down, sometimes
rapidly or unpredictably. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or section of the
economy, or it may affect the market as a whole. The value of the Fund’s investments may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to the particular issuer. These market conditions may include
real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in trade regulation or economic sanctions, changes in the general outlook for revenues or corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, regional or
global instability and uncertainty, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, military conflict, acts of terrorism, economic crisis or adverse investor sentiment generally, among
others. Certain changes in the U.S. economy in particular, such as when the U.S. economy weakens or when its financial markets decline, may have a material adverse effect on global financial markets as a whole, and on the
securities to which the Fund has exposure. Increasingly strained relations between the U.S. and foreign countries, including as a result of economic sanctions and tariffs, may also adversely affect U.S. issuers, as well as
non-U.S. issuers.
During a general downturn in the financial markets, multiple
asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that
specific investments held by the Fund will rise in value.
Investing in Stocks
Risk. The value of the Fund’s portfolio may be affected by changes in the stock markets. Stock markets may experience significant short-term volatility and
may fall or rise sharply at times. Adverse events in any part of the equity or fixed-income markets may have unexpected negative effects on other market segments. Different stock markets may behave differently from each
other and U.S. stock markets may move in the opposite direction from one or more foreign stock markets.
The prices of individual stocks generally do not all move in the same
direction at the same time. However, individual stock prices tend to go up and down more
dramatically than those of certain other types of investments, such as bonds. A variety of factors can negatively affect the price of a particular company’s stock. These factors may include, but are not limited to: poor earnings
reports, a loss of customers, litigation against the company, general unfavorable performance of the company’s sector or industry, or changes in government regulations affecting the company or its industry. To the extent that
securities of a particular type are emphasized (for example foreign stocks, stocks of small- or mid-cap companies, growth or value stocks, or stocks of companies in a particular industry), Fund share values may fluctuate more in
response to events affecting the market for those types of securities.
Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies
Risk. Investing in securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies involves greater risk than customarily is associated
with investing in larger, more established companies. Stocks of small- and mid-capitalization companies tend to be more vulnerable to changing market conditions, may have little or no operating history or track record of
success, and may have more limited product lines and markets, less experienced management and fewer
financial resources than larger companies. These companies’ securities may be more volatile
and less liquid than those of more established companies. They may be more sensitive to changes in a company’s earnings expectations and may experience more abrupt and erratic price movements. Smaller companies’ securities
often trade in lower volumes and in many instances, are traded over-the-counter or on a regional securities exchange, where the frequency and volume of trading is substantially less than is typical for securities of larger
companies traded on national securities exchanges. Therefore, the securities of smaller companies may be subject to wider price fluctuations and it might be harder for the Fund to dispose of